SpaceX makes its case for space sustainability with latest Starlink launch
Friday, 25 February 2022 19:45
Write a comment
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites Feb. 25 as the company argues its satellite constellation is consistent with the safe and sustainable use of low Earth orbit.
The post SpaceX makes its case for space sustainability with latest Starlink launch appeared first on SpaceNews.
Previous invasion of Ukraine had serious repercussions for the space sector
Friday, 25 February 2022 18:43 Write a comment
While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have important space policy ramifications, the impact is not likely to be as significant as shifts that occurred in the wake Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The post Previous invasion of Ukraine had serious repercussions for the space sector appeared first on SpaceNews.
More spaceports, more problems
Friday, 25 February 2022 18:06 Write a comment
State and local authorities pushing new projects seem undeterred by many obstacles or the fact that more than half of 13 FAA-licensed spaceports in the United States have yet to host a launch.
The post More spaceports, more problems appeared first on SpaceNews.
100
Friday, 25 February 2022 15:33 Write a comment
Image:
Happy 100 days in space to ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. The first-time space flier marked the milestone on 19 February 2022 and what a busy 100-days it been.
In a Twitter post marking the milestone, Matthias wrote, “100 days may sound like a lot, but it feels like I've only just arrived.”
Even before launching for his Cosmic Kiss mission on a SpaceX Dragon as part of Crew-3, Matthias was on the science, providing researchers with pre-flight measurements for a variety of experiments.
Since arriving, Matthias has continued to be poked and prodded while working, exercising and even sleeping, all in
NASA rules out April for Artemis I launch, could target May
Friday, 25 February 2022 15:10 Write a comment
NASA mission managers updated Artemis I progress ahead of the March rollout of the massive Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B for what the agency calls a wet dress rehearsal.
While it's targeting March 16 at 6 p.m. for the 322-foot-tall rocket to make the 4.2-mile journey to the pad, the agency will need a month or more for testing and a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building before NASA signs off on a launch attempt. So an April launch window has been taken off the board.
"April is not a possibility. We're still evaluating the tail end of May," said Tom Whitmeyer, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development. "But I want to be really careful once again, being straightforward with you. You know, we really need to get through this next few weeks here, see how we're doing."
The next possible windows for launch are from May 7-21, June 6-16 and June 29-July 12.
The majority of work inside the VAB is done ahead of the wet dress rollout, Whitmeyer said, including the last major hardware testing that involved the installation of the explosives on the vehicle that would be used in the event of an abort launch scenario.
Chinese rover finds translucent glass globules on the moon
Friday, 25 February 2022 14:00 Write a comment
Scientists say China's Yutu-2 rover, part of the Chang'E-4 mission, has found several small glass globules on the moon's far side. While tiny glass beads have been found previously in lunar samples brought back by the Apollo astronauts, the ones found by Yutu-2 are much bigger and translucent.
The discovery was made by Dr. Zhiyong Xiao, one of the lead scientific team members of the Chang'E-4 mission. They beads were found by looking at panoramic images taken by the rover. Since the rover doesn't have sampling capabilities and is not a sample return mission like it's older sibling, the Chang-E-5 mission, there is no compositional data on the glass beads, only observational evidence.
Wind-sculpted feature on Mars is an extensive dust factory
Friday, 25 February 2022 13:50 Write a comment
This image from ESA's Mars Express shows part of possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation, or MFF.
The MFF is not only a veritable dust factory, but also remarkably extensive—it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5,000 km, covering an area about the size of India. It is named for the Greek mythological Gorgon Medusa, who was able to turn those who looked into her eyes to stone, with the suffix 'fossae' being Latin for trenches or hollows.
The formation is found along the boundary between Mars' southern highlands and northern lowlands (known as the martian dichotomy), and sits between the planet's two most prominent volcanic regions (Tharsis and Elysium). It also contains the Eumenides Dorsum mountain range, the edges of which can be seen in the gentle elevation extending out of the bottom right of the frame (northeast).
ULA: Russia sanctions not expected to disrupt Atlas 5 operations
Friday, 25 February 2022 13:41 Write a comment
United Launch Alliance said the operation of the Atlas 5 vehicle, which is powered by the Russian RD-180 engine, will not be affected by the economic sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine
Here's what China is planning to do in space for the next five years
Friday, 25 February 2022 13:30 Write a comment
Central planning is literately central to any communist country, though its history has mixed results. As part of that planning, bureaucrats in all parts of the government are occasionally tasked with coming up with goals and milestones for their specific part of the government. These usually take the form of a five- or 10-year plan, which is what the China National Space Agency (CNSA) released on January 28.
This is the fifth such report, with previous releases in 2000, 2006, 2011 and 2016, and the current plans for future space exploration build on the efforts of the past plans. At more than 7,500 words, the document itself is hefty but still a relatively high-level overview of what the agency hopes to achieve. Some main focal points include improving the sustainability of their rocket launches, improving their global position system, partnering with Russia on lunar exploration, maintaining and expanding the Tiangong space station, researching the underlying technology for a Mars sample return mission, and building a global partnership to build a research station on the moon.
Week in images: 21 - 25 February 2022
Friday, 25 February 2022 13:20 Write a comment
Week in images: 21 - 25 February 2022
Discover our week through the lens
ESA to continue cooperation but monitoring situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Friday, 25 February 2022 11:51 Write a comment
ESA is continuing work on the International Space Station and ExoMars programs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but monitoring the situation, the agency’s Director-General said Friday.
The post ESA to continue cooperation but monitoring situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA to roll out SLS in mid-March for launch rehearsal
Friday, 25 February 2022 11:34 Write a comment
NASA expects to roll out the Space Launch System rocket for the first time in mid-March for a dress rehearsal of a launch that could come as soon as May but more likely some time in the summer.
Pentagon and Partners Release Combined Space Operations Vision 2031
Friday, 25 February 2022 09:50 Write a comment
The United States joins Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom in the joint release of the "Combined Space Operations (CSpO) Vision 2031" today.
CSpO is an initiative to address the overarching need to encourage responsible use of space, recognizing challenges to space sustainability, threats presented by technological advances, and the increasingly compreh Space Micro lands Space Development Agency contract for optical communications
Friday, 25 February 2022 09:50 Write a comment
Voyager Space and Space Micro has announced an award from the Space Development Agency (SDA) for a 24-month development contract for advanced one-to-many optical communications using Managed Optical Communication Array (MOCA) technology to support Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations. Space Micro partnered with BridgeComm Inc., a global leader in optical wireless communications solutions and ser The last day of the dinosaurs
Friday, 25 February 2022 09:50 Write a comment
The asteroid which killed nearly all of the dinosaurs struck Earth during springtime. This conclusion was drawn by an international team of researchers after having examined thin sections, high-resolution synchrotron X-ray scans, and carbon isotope records of the bones of fishes that died less than 60 minutes after the asteroid impacted. The team presents its findings in the journal Nature.